Annabeth to the Rescue!
by Hakimu
Summary: When Percy must take the fall for something that is not his fault, Annabeth comes to his rescue. ONESHOT.


I wanted to kill him. Yes, kill him. I swear, sometimes that Seaweed Brain just got on my last nerve. He promised me that he would meet me at 6pm sharp. It is now 6:15, and my patience is wearing thin.

It's not my fault that the Poseidon and Athena cabins were chosen to lead the blue team in this week's Capture the Flag. And it's _definitely _not my fault that I was elected to be the leader of the Athena cabin for this week's game. And, by default, the leader of the Poseidon cabin is none other than Percy Jackson. And he was late for out meeting.

I sat there flipping through some of my architecture scrolls when I heard an owl's hoot. It was the Athena cabin clock, letting me know it was now 7pm. The Capture the Flag game is tomorrow, and we have no strategy. Seaweed brain, you're dead.

I walked outside to find out what could be more important than our meeting. I looked around and spotted Clarisse, sitting on the ground and throwing rocks at new campers. Typical of her. I walked over to her, but she ignored my presence and continued to throw rocks. "Hey, Clarisse, have you seen Percy anywhere?"

She looked up at me, with a rock still in her hand. "Why should I care, Wise Girl?" I frowned. I hated when people called me that, Percy being the only exception. But don't tell him that.

"Gods, Clarisse," I said. "You could be nicer to him, I mean, he did save your life before." She clenched her fists and the rock in her hand crumbled to bits. Thank the gods that rock was not my face.

"You best shut your mouth, Wise Girl," she barked. "I don't know anything about your boyfriend, nor do I care. Now go away before I treat YOU like a new camper" I didn't want to hang around to get my face pummeled by rocks, so I left. I decided to walk by the Poseidon cabin, to see if Percy overslept or something. The cabin was empty, and a mess. Percy's minotaur horn that he won four years ago was gathering dust on the shelf. I took a corner of my shirt and wiped it off for him. He could thank me later.

I went around all of Camp Half-Blood looking for Percy, but I had no luck. I saw Juniper sitting in the woods, so I asked her if she saw Percy anywhere. She said no.

The next person I thought of asking was Grover, but he left Camp-Half Blood after the War with Kronos. I considered asking Mr. D, but that thought was short lived. Chiron might be busy, but he might know where Percy is. I made my way to the Mess Hall.

Chiron was sitting in his enchanted wheel-chair, writing something on his desk. He saw me enter and he smiled up at me. "Hello, Annabeth," he said pleasantly. 'What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you've seen Percy anywhere," I said. "I haven't seen him all day, and he was supposed to meet me at six for a-"

"A date?" Chiron interrupted. I narrowed my eyes at him. It was annoying how everyone saw Percy and I as a couple.I mean, yeah we like each other and all and we have kissed a few times, but I hate labels such as "boyfriend" and "date."

"No, he's late for a meeting," I said slowly. "We were going to strategize for Capture the Flag. He's late, and I would like to know where he is at so I can go off on him."

Chiron frowned. "Sorry, Annabeth, but I don't know where he is. Did you check the cabins or the battlefield?"

"Yes, I checked everywhere, no signs of Percy. I even asked around. Nobody knows where he is."

Chiron looked rather worried. "This is not good. It appears we have a missing camper." My anger started to turn to worry. "Annabeth, go talk to our Oracle. If Percy is indeed missing, you may have to take on a quest to find him.

Great. I have to go see the Oracle. Which meant Rachel. And if Rachel finds out that Percy is missing, she'll get all upset. She might even insist on going with me to find him. As if I would go anywhere with her.

I went to her room and knocked on the door. She opened the door and smiled, but when she saw my face she frowned. The only thing we had in common besides Percy was the fact that we hated each other.

"What do you want, Annabeth?" she asked.

"I need a quest. Top secret, don't bother asking." I responded.

She didn't say anything. She probably learned by now there was no sense in arguing with a child of Athena. She sat in her chair and beckoned for me to get closer. She put her hands on the crystal ball and said my name. Her eyes rolled back into her head and green smoke came out of her mouth. If this was my first prophecy, I would have been scared to death. But I was used to it.

Rachel spoke in a creepy, unnatural voice. I was definitely getting a quest.

"_Balance holds the key to what your heart desires  
__You must act now, before borrowed time expires.  
__A hero lies in vengeance's hold,  
__Paying the price for mistakes of old.  
__In saving the hero you will succeed  
__And something great will come from this deed."_

Rachel, with her eyes still rolled up, handed me a piece of paper that came out of nowhere. I took it from her hands and looked at it. It had the prophecy that Rachel just said. This is probably the best prophecy I've ever gotten. I told me I would succeed at saving the hero. This is probably the most straightforward prophecy ever given. What a relief on my part. When Rachel spoke in her normal voice, I was torn from my thoughts.

"You will save a hero, huh?" she asked. I didn't even notice she was reading the prophecy. The Oracle is always unaware of a prophecy when she makes them. "Well, you might want to get to it, before borrowed time expires." She laughed. If only she knew the hero was Percy. As if she read my mind, she spoke. "Annabeth, don't jump to conclusions. Remember how we thought the Great Prophecy was about Percy, but it was about Luke?"

"It was about both of them mixed, get your facts straight," I retorted.

'"I'm just saying, this hero might not be someone so great. It might be Clarisse, for all you know." She laughed. Instead of wasting my time on Rachel, I left. But Rachel's words still echoed in my head. As straightforward as the prophecy was, it didn't say _who _I would succeed in saving. I could only pray to the gods it was Percy.

I went back to Chiron and showed him the prophecy. "It is probably about Percy," he told me, and I wondered how he knew that. "This is the most straightforward prophecy I've ever seen. How could you not see it, Annabeth? You are a child of Athena."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Don't you see it? Look." He pointed to the words "balance" and "vengeance." He looked up at me. "This has something to do with the goddess Nemesis," he said. "Tell me, Annabeth, has Percy ever done anything to offend her?"

I was just about to say no, when I picture of Ethan Nakamura flashed across my head. Maybe she blamed Percy for his death? "I have to go, Chiron, I know what to do."

I ran out of the building, and I could have sworn I heard Chiron laugh softly.

I ran into the Athena cabin and dove into my trunk. I got my Yankees cap, my celestial bronze knife, and a few golden drachmas. The owl clock hooted again- it was 8:30pm. I went outside the the Rainbow Tree. The Rainbow Tree is a large tree that has a rainbow painted into it. Many campers make Iris-messages here because of its convenience. I summoned Iris and threw a golden drachma into the tree. I spoke to it.

"I wish to see, but not speak, to the goddess Nemesis. I request to make my presence unknown."

"That task requires three drachmas," said the voice. Spying on minor gods cost more money than spying on demigods, apparently. I threw two more drachmas into the rainbow. I saw Nemesis, who looked so much different than I imagined her, inside of a cave. Thank the gods I recognized this cave- it was inside of Mount St. Helen, where the monster Typhon used to live.

Nemesis chucked a rock at something on the ground. My heart stopped as I realized it was Percy. His hands were bound behind his back with plain rope, which was an insult to him being a demigod. Every inch of his body was bloodied and bruised except for his Achilles spot- the small of his back. Since Percy was invincible, most attacks didn't even leave a mark. Nemesis must have done serious damage to him. I was so angry, I couldn't even think straight. Then I heard her voice. It was very high-pitched and cruel. "I'm going to kill you, Percy. I'm going to make you fall to your death, the same way my son died." She blamed him for Ethan's death, just as I thought.

"No, you don't understand," said Percy. He sounded very weak. Nemesis appeared next to him, picked him up, and threw him across the room. I almost screamed at the Iris message, but I was afraid Nemesis would notice me.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I AM A GOD!" Her voice shook the whole cave. She lifted her hand, and the Iris message went blank before I could see what she was going to do to Percy. I walked away before it could ask me to deposit more drachmas. I whistled for Blackjack, Percy's Pegasus. He flew to me and looked disappointed when he saw I wasn't Percy. He whinnied in disapproval.

"Blackjack, Percy is in serious trouble. Take me to Mount St. Helen, as fast as possible." At the mention of Percy's name, Blackjack perked his ears up. He bucked, which in horse terms probably meant something like, "Hurry up and get on my back." I got on his back and we flew away.

We arrived at Mount St. Helen at record time. Blackjack was kind enough to land at the very top, so I wouldn't have to climb up the Mountain myself. I was certain that if my quest didn't involve Percy, he would have landed in the middle, or if he really hated me, the very bottom. He looked down into the volcano, looked at me, and flew away. I put on my Yankees cap and climbed into the Volcano.

I reached the cave that Percy was in. He was breathing slowly, thank the gods, so Nemesis hadn't killed him yet. I looked around but there was no sign of Nemesis. I tiptoed next to Percy and took off my cap. I put on hand on his shoulder gently, because of his bruises. I whispered his name in hopes he would recognize my voice. He turned around and looked me in the eyes. He had two black eyes and cuts all over his face. His green eyes looked as if they were pleading for help.

"Annabeth, get out of here, before she gets you too," he whispered, so soft I had to lean in to hear. "Please, Annabeth."

"No, Percy," I whispered firmly. "I'm not leaving you. I'm taking you up with me." Before he could say anything, I dug in his pocket and found Riptide. Wrong pocket. I dug in his other pocket and found a whistle that Poseidon gave him. This whistle could only be heard by Pegasi, so Percy could blow this when he needed to escape soundlessly. I blew on the whistle and Blackjack silently flew into the cave. Judging by the time it took for him to get there, he had been waiting at the top of the Volcano for me. When he saw Percy, he nudged him in the back with his nose. Percy groaned in pain.

I carefully lifted Percy up and put him on top of Blackjack. I was about to climb on when a bright light enveloped me. I was blinded. I turned around and saw Nemesis. she was very pretty- she had bright orange hair and yellow eyes. She wore a dark red dress. "Just who are you and what are you doing?" she asked me in a stone-cold voice. I had to think of a good answer, because a bad answer could mean instant death for the three of us.

"I came to visit you on account of Ethan Nakamura," I said. Nemesis frowned.

"He is dead. Because of that boy there that you are taking with you. If you had any respect for me or Ethan you would kill that boy."

"I respect you, Lady Nemesis," I said. What I was going to say next was a major risk, but it was worth it. "Percy here also respects you. After the war with Kronos, he told Zeus that the minor gods deserved more respect. Have you been getting more respect?" Nemesis narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yes, I have. I also wondered why I got my own cabin at Camp Half-Blood. See, minor gods are not allowed to know what happens in the throne room of the twelve major gods. Your friend Percy here, if he respects me, he shouldn't gave killed my son. Now he must die."

"Lady Nemesis," I said, "Your son was brave. He died at the hand of Kronos, because Percy convinced him otherwise. He died in battle."

"Kronos told me that Percy killed Ethan!" Nemesis snapped. Her eyes glowed bright yellow, and my insides felt ice cold.

"Kronos lied. He wanted you on his side. I assure you, Percy respects you, Lady Nemesis. That's why he stuck up for you in front of Zeus."

Nemesis faltered. After a few seconds of staring at Percy, who was passed out, she spoke. "Okay, I believe you, daughter of Athena. Hurry up and leave my presence before I change my mind and kill you all."

"As you wish, Lady Nemesis." I got on Blackjack and he took off. He was slower than usual because he had to support the weight of both me and Percy, but he was alright.

We landed at Camp-Halfblood three hours later. It was almost midnight. I carried Percy into the Mess Hall to see Chiron. When I walked in, Chiron quickly stepped out of his wheelchair to look at Percy. He told me to go to sleep, which I really needed. I said he was sending Percy to the infirmary, and I could visit him tomorrow. I took one last look at Percy and went to my cabin. Despite being worried about him, I went to sleep almost immediately.

The first thing I did when I woke up was go the the infirmary. There were only two people in there, Percy, and a new camper that obviously had no sword-fighting skills. I went over to Percy. He was awake, thank the gods. When he saw me, he grabbed my hand. "Thanks, Annabeth," he said. "If it wasn't for you I would have died."

"Don't mention it, Seaweed brain," I responded. We both smiled. One of the nurses came in and told me that Percy needed his rest. He asked the nurse for five minutes and the nurse said no. I was about to walk out when Percy pulled me by my shirt. My face was right up to his. I looked into his eyes, those beautiful green eyes and felt the need to kiss him. And that's just what I did. He kissed me back, and we sat there kissing until I felt something hit the me in the back. I got up and realized the nurse threw a half-full thermos of nectar at me. I gave it to Percy and told him I'd see him later. He smiled at me.

As I left the infirmary, I realized something great did come out of saving the hero: _love_.


End file.
